House of Cards makes history with Emmy Award nominations

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KEVIN SPACEY's online series HOUSE OF CARDS looks set to topple the competition at the 2013 Primetime Emmy Awards after picking up a raft of top nominations.

The political thriller, which airs online via Netflix.com, has won a nod in the Outstanding Drama Series category, while also picking up dramatic acting nominations for its leads, Spacey and Robin Wright. It garnered six nominations altogether and made history by becoming the first show not on TV to join the race for a top Emmy statue.

American Horror Story: Asylum garnered the most nominations with 17, followed closely by Game of Thrones with 16.

Last year's (12) big winners Homeland and Breaking Bad have kept up with the competition - they both are up for Outstanding Drama Series, along with Mad Men, Game of Thrones and Downton Abbey.

Spacey faces tough competition from Homeland's Damian Lewis and Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston for Lead Actor in a Drama, as well as Downton Abbey's Hugh Bonneville, The Newsroom star Jeff Daniels, and Mad Men's Jon Hamm.

Movie icon Michael Douglas will go up against his Behind the Candelabra co-star Matt Damon for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie category for his Liberace biopic, while Al Pacino landed a nod in the same category for his title role in Phil Spector.

The nominations were announced by Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul and the upcoming prizegiving's host Neil Patrick Harris, who was a last-minute replacement for actress Kate Mara after she suffered travel problems on the way to Los Angeles.

The 65th Primetime Emmy Awards will take place at the Nokia Theater in L.A. on 22 September (13).

The main list of nominees is as follows:

Outstanding Drama Series:

Breaking Bad

Downton Abbey

Game of Thrones

Homeland

House of Cards

Mad Men

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series:

Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Damian Lewis, Homeland

Kevin Spacey, House of Cards

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series:

Connie Britton, Nashville

Claire Danes, Homeland

Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey

Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel

Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men

Kerry Washington, Scandal

Robin Wright, House of Cards

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series:

Bobby Cannavale, Boardwalk Empire

Jonathan Banks, Breaking Bad

Aaron Paul, Breaking Bad

Jim Carter, Downton Abbey

Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones

Mandy Patinkin, Homeland

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series:

Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad

Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones

Christine Baranski, The Good Wife

Morena Baccarin, Homeland

Christina Hendricks, Mad Men

Outstanding Comedy Series:

The Big Bang Theory

Girls

Louie

Modern Family

30 Rock

Veep

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Jason Bateman, Arrested Development

Louis C.K., Louie

Don Cheadle, House of Lies

Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:

Laura Dern, Enlightened

Lena Dunham, Girls

Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie

Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series:

Adam Driver, Girls

Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Modern Family

Ed O'Neill, Modern Family

Ty Burrell, Modern Family

Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live

Tony Hale, Veep

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series:

Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory

Jane Lynch, Glee

Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Julie Bowen, Modern Family

Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie

Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock

Anna Chlumsky, Veep

Outstanding Miniseries or Movie:

American Horror Story: Asylum

Behind the Candelabra

The Bible

Phil Spector

Political Animals

Top of the Lake

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie:

Benedict Cumberbatch, Parade's End

Matt Damon, Behind

the Candelabra

Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra

Toby Jones, The Girl

Al Pacino, Phil Spector

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie:

Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Asylum

Laura Linney, The Big C Hereafter

Helen Mirren, Phil Spector

Elisabeth Moss, Top of the Lake

Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals.

Copyright 2013 World Entertainment News Network. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.